November 24 Restaurant Report: New Restaurants Open

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - In this Restaurant Report, we didn't want to show you food violations while you're digesting your Thanksgiving meal. Instead, we're taking you behind the scenes to show you the challenges a new restaurant faces, from passing their first health inspection to competing in Richmond's competitive restaurant market.

If you like to graze on small plates of southern cuisine, you may want to come out to Pasture.

"We have pork rillette, which is a pork rib really popular in France, a lot of homemade pickles, a lot of mustards and ketchups in house, everything is from scratch," owner and chef Jason Alley told us about his array of menu offerings.

Alley knows his stuff. He also owns Comfort Restaurant on West Broad Street and was named a Rising Star by online magazine StarChef.com. But he says opening Pasture has been a whole new, 6-month adventure.

New restaurants must pass state health department inspections before they open, which Pasture has. That means all refrigeration, cooking and cleaning procedures had to be ready.

Said Alley, "We go through a whole plan review. Then we go through an initial inspection. They come and make sure everything looks good. Then they come back and do a final and make sure everything is clean."

To compete with Richmond's many restaurants, Alley and his partners had to come up with an inventive menu and design a unique space, which features industrial and farm themes.

Said Alley, "We just want to make sure everything is super tight, so that when people come, it's the experience we want them to have."

Pasture opens next week for dinner at 414 East Grace Street in Richmond. Alley expects to start serving lunch after the New Year.

Other new eats you can check out: a Cheesecake Heaven shop opened on 7019 Three Chopt Road, the Irish Local Eatery and Pub opened at 1108 West Main Street in Shockoe Bottom, and the Celtic sports bar, The Tilted Kilt, is opening at 2070 Waterside Road in Prince George, according to Richmond BizSense.

This week's NBC 12 Hall of Fame Award goes to Little Caesar's Pizza, 4007 Mechanicsville Turnpike in Henrico. This shop is serving up pizza fit for the Romans, acing four of it's last five state health inspections.

NBC12's Restaurant Report airs each Thursday night at 11 p.m. and features the health inspection results from restaurants in Richmond, Hanover, Henrico and Chesterfield. Learn more about the Restaurant Report.More >>

NBC12's Restaurant Report airs each Thursday night at 11 p.m. and features the health inspection results from restaurants in Richmond, Hanover, Henrico and Chesterfield. More >>